Also at DKos.
The Associated Press reported Thursday morning that House Democrats are pushing for legislation that will require U.S. combat troops to leave Iraq by fall of 2008. That sounds like a timeline to me.
The legislation reportedly also says that the withdrawal deadline will move up to the end of 2007 if Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government doesn’t meet benchmarks set for readiness of Iraq’s security forces.
Thursday afternoon, Senate majority leader Harry Reid introduced a joint resolution calling for U.S. troops in Iraq to begin redeployment in 120 days and for all American combat forces there to be redeployed by March 31, 2008.
Timelines and benchmarks: it’s about time.
Crystal Balls and Tea Leaves
As Will Rogers once famously said, all I really know is what I read in the papers, and I don’t believe most of what I read in them. From what I can divine between the lines, it looks like the Democrats have given up on trying to stop Mr. Bush’s surge, but are taking measures to ensure the surge doesn’t turn into a long-term escalation. The proposed House bill, according to AP, “also calls for the Pentagon to adhere to its existing standards for equipping and training U.S. troops sent overseas and for providing time at home between tours of combat.”
From what U.S. commander in Iraq General David Petraeus and his number two man Lieutenant General Ray Odierno are saying publicly, the full surge–five combat brigades plus 7,000 something support personnel and 2,000 or so military police–won’t be in place until sometime in June of this year. Odierno says the surge force level can’t last beyond August without taking draconian measures that would include extending tours in theater and cutting stateside rotations short.
This clumsy dance will float back and forth across the floor until the inevitable happens. Whether the Democrats manage to push a timeline and benchmark bill through or not, U.S. ground forces will poop themselves dry sometime late this year or early in 2008. We’ll end up redeploying to the periphery like Jack Murtha recommended back in November 2005.
As the 2008 election madness heats up, the Republicans will try to gin up spin that either says they achieved “victory” by staying the course or blame “defeat” on the Democrats and the liberal media.
A Tectonic Shift?
Recent media reports suggest that Dick Cheney is losing his influence on young Mr. Bush subsequent to the Scooter Libby convictions. I’m not convinced of that just yet. Cheney and his neo-confederates have been propping Bush’s empty hat above the podium throughout his tenure in the White House. 60 years old now, Bush has never been held responsible for any of his actions and never had to pass a test he couldn’t cheat on. If you’ve noticed, he’s starting to look his age. It’s about time he started acting it.
It may be that Congress will finally get him and his administration under control and hold them accountable for their horseplay. From the House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform:
Chairman Henry A. Waxman announced a hearing on whether White House officials followed appropriate procedures for safeguarding the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson. At the hearing, the Committee will receive testimony from Ms. Wilson and other experts regarding the disclosure and internal White House security procedures for protecting her identity from disclosure and responding to the leak after it occurred. The hearing is scheduled for Friday, March 16.
Can we dare to hope that the grown ups are taking back control of the kindergarten we call Washington D.C.?
Over the weekend, you might want to check out this interview between David Swanson and retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski. Kwaitowski’s last assignment was in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Under Secretary for Policy Near East South Asia (NESA) Policy directorate, and she knows a little something about what went on during the Iraq intelligence bake sale. The money quote regards her assessment of Doug Feith’s infamous Office of Special Plans.
There is no doubt in my mind that what they were impeachable offenses.
Have a good weekend. Let’s all hope the sun rises come Monday morning. (I have it on best authority that the odds makers in Vegas say it will.)
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Commander Jeff Huber, U.S. Navy (Retired) writes from Virginia Beach, Virginia. Read his commentaries at Pen and Sword.
I don’t quite know what to make of this. What about the four mega bases? The military certainly is not going to want to leave those. Here is what Kwiatkowski has to say about them:
I think this is just posturing. William Lind has noted yesterday that Congressional Dems want the war to continue into the election, because they figure that would give them big victories.
Still, it’s pleasing that Pelosi is now willing to go beyond purely non-binding bills. But I am fairly sure that she is introducing this bill only with the expectation that the Rethugs will block it somehow.
At this point, I think that the main thing this news (covered well by Jake Tapper) indicates is that the Dems’ political gamesmanship is improving. From their point of view, the best thing to do is to make enough of an anti-war effort so as to avoid being blamed by the electorate as being partially responsible for the war’s continuation, but not enough of one to actually end the war.
Congressional Dems must have gotten the message that the public is really getting fed up with them for not doing anything real to end the war. Well, at least now they’ve moved the Overton window a little.
I don’t see what else Pelosi and Reid can do except continue on this path. Let the Republicans block bills, let Bush veto them.
If they were serious about ending the war, they could filibuster the appropriations bills funding the occupation. That Web site, which I just found, has a petition:
I first ran across this idea in an article that appeared in the Counterpunch Web site on 8 February, and that article is indeed reproduced at this Web site. The Web site must be new, since a link to it only came up in Counterpunch yesterday. So far there are only 180 signatures.
Someone should post a diary about this petition at the orange zone.
It is interesting that this idea is not being pushed by liberal outfits like MoveOn.org.
…and I don’t know what to make of their accuracy, but the argument goes that they can’t really write a bill that dictates what the funds are used for at a micro-level.
Like I said, I’m not sure how true that is.
it’s a no brainer that “both” political parties want the coming POTUS election to be a single issue election– as they always do since it conveniently simplifies it all for we “dumb” voters– and it makes the lives of our so called representatives a lot easier since they can conveniently ignore the 20-30 other pressing issues facing our nation, as they have been doing for the last twenty years.
I have to disagree with: “suggest that Dick Cheney is losing his influence on young Mr. Bush subsequent to the Scooter Libby convictions”.
this implies bush is in charge of anything– he’s not. he’s merely the frontman, the spokesperson for the organization many call bu$hco– which cheney is a ranking member and was put in the VP slot for the sole purpose of making sure the puppet strings attached to bush don’t get tangled up, i.e. “off message”.
if you meant to say bush the puppet is getting nervous because one of cheney’s men just got hammered by the law (which thus far bu$hco has “cleverly” done end runs around, i.e. the Geneva Conventions as applicable to the Iraq invasion/occupation, etc.) then yes, I would agree with that.
one hears stories Junior wants to “outdo” his old man, president bush I, but now he’s walking down the same path, i.e. potentially forced to pardon a convicted member of the gang in order to keep him from singing– just like daddy did with his infamous Christmas pardon of Cap Weinberger and the other criminals convicted due to the Iran/contra scandal.
http://www.fas.org/news/iran/1992/921224-260039.htm
the current bush’s approval rating is what? 30 percent? he has nothing really to lose by issuing a pardon come christmas 2008.
…I don’t buy that Cheney is losing his influence. Who’s going to take his place in Bush World? Condi? I don’t think so. And as you say, Bush can’t take charge now.
And like you, I don’t see Bush letting Libby go to jail.